Silicone, polyurethane, and other polymeric foamed products are well known in the art. These expanded systems find application in such diverse areas as thermal insulation, vibration damping, noise control, furniture and automotive cushioning and construction, inter alia.
Ando et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,652,276, disclose a foaming composition comprising an organic polymer having a carbon-carbon double bond, an SiH-functional compound and an OH-functional compound. The polymer is preferably a polyether and the OH-functional compound can be water, an alcohol or a carboxylic acid. Ando et al. generally appreciate that the key to final foam character is a balance between the crosslinking and gassing reactions during foaming. However, there is no clear teaching as to how one of ordinary skill in the art should manipulate the various components to arrive at a desired expansion ratio or other physical property for any given polymer or class of polymers.